FORECLOSURE CAMPAIGNS
Representative John Taylor speaks at Lobby Day in Harrisburg
2004
Homeowners fighting to save their homes
2006
September 30, 2006
MBIA agrees to plan to avert foreclosures
Inquirer article: MBIA Corp., a New York bond insurer, has agreed to ease payment terms for low-income Philadelphia homeowners whose properties face foreclosure because of tax bills more than nine years old.
Campaign to Lower Sheriff's Fees
P.U.P. applauds the Board of Judges for ordering the Sheriff to decrease the size of his Sheriff's Sale ads by what amounts to about 30%. We await the corresponding decrease in Sheriff's fees that homeowners must pay in order to prevent an auction of their home.
P.U.P. demands that the Sheriff dramatically decrease the number of papers in which he places Sheriff's sale ads. If he limited his ads to only the number of papers required under state law, fees could go from $1700 per sale to more like $500.
An explanation of how much Sheriff Green's fees cost homeowners, why it costs so much and why they don't need to cost as much as they do is in the April 13, 2006 City Paper.
A follow-up, in which Green admits he does not plan to pass on his cost-savings from reducing ad sizes to homeowners can be read in the May 18, 2006 issue.
January 2006
Philadelphia offers tax plan to delinquents
Philadelphia Inquirer | Phila. offers a tax deal to delinquents | Jan. 13, 2006
May 9, 2005
New city tax collector stirs fuss
Click Here: PhillyNews article | Daily News - Overtaxed
THE REAL ESTATE TAX CRISIS and MORE FORECLOSURES
March 17, 2005
Pa. plan targeting foreclosures
Click here: Philadelphia Inquirer 03/17/2005
February 15, 2005
NBC10.com – Consumer alert – Getting Help With Foreclosures
http://www.nbc10.com/consumeralert/4199656/detail.html
August 2004
Sheriff Green agrees
to cut sheriff sale fees charged to homeowners from $2000 to
$1200
Click
here: Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/30/2004 | Sheriff to cut foreclosure
fees
July 2004
Sheriff Green meets with PUP members to discuss the excessive cost of sheriff sale advertisement.
June 2004
The Foreclosure Crisis Committee meets directly with two of
the largest foreclosure lawyers in Philadelphia.
When challenged on why the lawyer's fees are so high, both lawyers dropped their fees substantially. Read about the Foreclosure Crisis Committee Members meeting with Larry Phelan, Philadelphia's largest foreclosure law firm; they win major reductions in legal fees for foreclosures.
2nd and 3rd Major
law firms reduce fees Goldbeck, McKafferty and McKeever down
to $969
Clip: PUP Report "Goldbeck firm waives fees for family and reduces
fees in general"
May 2004
PUP members organize a major Harrisburg Lobby day.
Homeowner sat with governor Rendell for an hour urging him to fund HEMAP
and protect others from loosing their homes throughout the commonwealth
Clip: metro 4/29/04 "Low Income Home Owners Don't Last"
Governor Rendell meets with members of the Foreclosure Crisis Committee in Harrisburg.
April 2004
Sales were Postponed Longer for 160 families
PUP and Sheriff Green won a stay in court for homeowners who came forward to get help following the postponement of the March Sheriff Sale. They are now working to get assistance from HEMAP and the FHA Loss Mitigation Program and the judge will continue to oversee their efforts as part of the postponement.
FHA Homeowners meet with Congressman Chaka Fattah.
FHA mortgages are not covered by HEMAP. This is because HUD had a program to offer ongoing help to FHA homeowners facing foreclosure. This program was killed by Congress in 1996. Now FHA homeowners have to rely on their mortgage companies for assistance. This has led to increased FHA foreclosures and frustration from housing counselors and homeowners looking to prevent foreclosure. FHA foreclosures are far higher than for other mortgages and HUD offers little help to those facing foreclosure, despite the fact that they pay 100% of the costs of foreclosures.
Representative Chaka Fattah (D-PA) has introduced the Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance Act (HR 1357) in response to the loss of FHA protection , which would offer low interest loans to FHA homeowners to give them time to recover from periods of unemployment, illness, etc.
March 2004
Joint citywide foreclosure clinic sponsored by PUP, Sheriff Green and other counseling agencies. Hundreds of families attended and got information on how to save their homes.
February 3, 2004
The largest Sheriff's sale in Philadelphia History.
Homes had been listed for sale due to foreclosure. Members of the Philadelphia Unemployment Project's Foreclosure Crisis committee, made up of homeowners who have faced and are facing foreclosure, called for a protest rally to demand more help for Philadelphians who are faced with losing their homes.
What we called for:
- More approvals for the Pennsylvania Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP)
- Reduced attorney's fees for foreclosure actions
- Help from HUD for homeowners with FHA mortgages
- A temporary moratorium on Sheriff Sale's until action has been taken to reduce foreclosures. Such a moratorium was granted for 15 months during the 1983 recession. We called on Sheriff John Green to hold off on the next sale and join us in approaching the courts for a moratorium as Sheriff Joe Sullivan did in 1983 when 310 properties were scheduled for sale.
Click here: Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/03/2004 | A record 1,092 on sheriff's sale list
January 13, 2004
Meeting between Homeowners, Pennsylvania Banking Secretary William Schenck and PHFA Director Bryan Hudson. Hudson has pressed his staff to increase HEMAP approvals and will have a senior loan officer review every denial. Schenck has offered to strategize with advocates on how to increase funding for HEMAP.